Various - Soul Jamaica Vinyl 2LP

Soul Jazz Records’ Soul Jamaica brings together a killer selection of reggae, funk, and soul tracks from the legendary Studio One vaults, featuring a stellar lineup that includes Jackie Mittoo, The Heptones, The Gladiators, Slim Smith, Peter Tosh and The Wailers, Cedric “Im” Brooks, and many more.

For a brief but brilliant period at the turn of the 1970s—between the end of rocksteady and the rise of roots reggae—Studio One released a stream of soulful, funk-infused reggae tunes inspired by artists like Sly and The Family Stone, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Nina Simone, Gene Chandler, and Tyrone Davis.

Most of the tracks featured on Soul Jamaica were originally issued only on Studio One’s UK subsidiary label, Bamboo, in very limited pressings, making the originals incredibly rare today. The cover photograph, featuring Air Jamaica imagery, reflects the optimism of the post-independence era, when the newly established national airline—and reggae music itself—helped define Jamaica’s growing cultural identity on the world stage.